A culture critic reflects on the limits of language -- and the magic of silence
Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker writer Hilton Als says we "don't actually have much silence left" in our world. His latest exhibition challenges the way we see art, identity and storytelling.
In Defense Of Jazz Biopics: Melodramas And Morality Tales, Set To Music
Many jazz fans hate biopic films, but critic Kevin Whitehead likes noticing which true elements get in — or get left out — as messy lives are squeezed into stock-story formulas.
Reissue Of 'The End of Me' Helps Cement Alfred Hayes' Status As A Great Novelist
A poet, novelist and screenwriter, Hayes' name largely fell from view following his death in 1985. Now, with the re-issue of three of his novels, his reputation has been making a comeback.
Poet Eve Ewing Connects 1919 Chicago To Today's Racial Unrest
Ewing's 1919 looks back on a century-old riot in Chicago, set off after a black teen drowned while being stoned by white people. She says the systemic racism that plagued the U.S. then still exists.
How Taking A Stand For Justice Can Threaten The Careers Of Black Athletes
Howard Bryant, author of The Heritage, discusses the history of social protest among African American athletes, including Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali. Originally broadcast Jan. 13, 2018.
'Fresh Air' Listens Back To James Baldwin And Documentary Filmmaker Raoul Peck
In 1986, Terry Gross interviewed Baldwin, one of the most influential black writers of the civil rights era. Then, in 2017, she spoke to Peck, director of I Am Not Your Negro, about Baldwin.
Reporter Details William Barr's Effort To Uphold Trump's 'Law And Order' Image
Washington Post reporter Matt Zapotosky talks about the attorney general's role in the Trump administration's forceful response to the largely peaceful George Floyd protests in Washington, DC.